Saturday, February 17, 2018

Randle managed to shoot a bunch of fantastic photos during Dr. David Grinspoon’s lecture “The Anthropocene: What Now?” at the SRI International Conference Center. They’ll make great companion viewing for the recorded version, which is available to all Patrons for as little as one dollar a month.

Also, check out my interview with Dr. David Grinspoon on the Pink Elephants podcast, and stayed tuned for more great bonus content!

On a recent episode of the program, I sat down with Senior Researcher at the Planetary Science Institute of Washington, DC and author of the book Earth In Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet’s Future, Dr. David Grinspoon, to talk about the recent debate over how and when to codify our planet’s latest geological epoch, tentatively known as the Anthropocene, or the Age Of Man.

In effort to answer these questions and others, David recently gave a lecture on behalf of the SETI Institute at the SRI International Conference Center in Menlo Park, California entitled “The Anthropocene: What Now?” where he connects the evolution of our planet’s various biological systems to those on other planets as a means to predict various outcomes of our actions here at home, along with their consequences.

And for as little as one dollar a month, this lecture – along with all of our other bonus content – can be yours right now. Become a Patron and start listening today!

And while you're listening, you should definitely check out these great photos Randle shot during the lecture!

If you're an independent musician or band and you'd like to have your music featured on the program, click here.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Growing up in the shadow of great American catastrophes like the Iraq War and the 2008 Financial Crisis, it’s no surprise that Patrick Kaufmann - front man for San Jose punk rock band The Roughies - would develop a penchant for the absurd that would prove instrumental in making their band what they are today.

Patty and I got together for a bit of a jam session here at the studio a few weeks ago, and after many hours and many cocktails, we sat down to talk about his transition from yet another sick, sad emo kid lost on the San Jose circuit to one of the most sardonic cultural critics in today’s punk rock scene.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Hey hey hey, Internetland! It's your old pal Randle Aubrey here to give you a bit of an update on all things personal, political, and podcastical.

As you may have noticed, things have been extremely busy here at Pink Elephants HQ, where I have become the proud father of six - count 'em, six - bangin'-ass podcast episodes, which are all available for immediate download on the Pink Elephantspodcast page as well as their respective posts on the blog.

I am so very proud my little show thus far; it is without a trace of doubt that I state that this is some of the finest content I've ever produced, over any medium I've ever worked in. I can't remember the last time I felt so confident working within a given form, while still remaining so curious about its potential. Mind you, it's fucking exhausting, but so very, very worth it.

Between all that, I've also managed to release one bonus episode just for Patreon subscribers, and I've got two more on the way. Like Donna says: I work hard for the money, so you better treat me right.

That also means sharing my show on your social media feeds, and subscribing to it with whatever podcast app thingy you use to binge all your favorite shows. My personal favorite is Google Play, but we're on Stitcher and iTunes, as well.

Stitcher and iTunes seem to be the big players in podstreaming, but given that out of all three, Stitcher is the only one who actually seems to give a damn about their back end users as far as promotional ability is concerned, they secured the current real estate deal on my front page for the time being with their swank-ass HTML player.

So please: do me the honor of subscribing to the show. Downloads are great and all, but repeat listeners (and donors...*wink wink nudge nudge* is what I really need. It's the easiest way to gain access to new content as soon as it comes out, and your phone will even notify you when it happens, for Chrissake. I love living in the future!

I really wish I had the opportunity to blog more; writing doesn't net me a fifth of the traffic my podcast does, but after spending damned near six years writing my ass off, I miss it sooooo very much. But pouring all of that creative energy into the show (which actually calls for a fair amount of writing on its own) was just the thing I needed at just the right time, and I don't regret it for a moment.

Maybe after a year or so, I can do a few weeks of "Best Of" shows and spend a little time writing some long form shit. Who knows? Keep your fingers crossed for me, and keep those donations coming. They're a very direct lifeline to making this show a reality, seriously.

My last handful of donations bought me a fat sack of weed, which allowed me to medicate and keep my head on straight for the multitude of hours required in the editing room to produce a show like my own. It's also bought me beer, whiskey, mic cables, web hosting, a phone bill, some decorations for the studio on eBay, and a bunch of other random shit that keeps me flowin' on a regular basis. That's all you, people. That's allllll you.

I don't need a lot of money to make this show happen, just enough to cover a handful of expenses and avoid picking up a second job. This is my second job. I hope that at some point, enough people can recognize it as such to allow me to make it my only job. But that starts with you, and a Patreon subscription.

Right now, I'm earning six bucks a month. Help me make it ten, and you're first drink is on me. Hell, I'll even make sure they serve it in a clean glass. ;)

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Recently, there’s been a conversation rippling through the scientific community that threatens to destroy mankind’s self-perception as a higher order species once and for all: a debate over where and how to mark the official beginning of our species’ influence upon the planet.

It might seem obvious at this point that we’ve been an incredibly potent and dynamic force here for quite some time now, but marking exactly where that influence began is what will best allow us to determine when and if it will ever end, and if so, how.

Dr. David Grinspoon, a senior researcher at the Planetary Science Institute in Washington, DC and the author of Earth In Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet’s Future is one of the leading experts in this debate, and he joined me recently to explain what’s currently happening as the scientific community goes over the particulars of the Age of Man. But from here, perhaps we should call it by its proper name: the Anthropocene.